The testing of a device, such as one including a transistor, amplifier, circuit or the like may be performed by operating the device under a stressed condition, such as an elevated temperature, typical operating conditions, or the like, and monitoring the device until it reaches some defined criteria of failure. Failure may be arbitrarily defined, such as when the device operates at lower efficiency or the like. Unfortunately, testing a device as discussed above may be able to determine the mean time to failure of the device, but may not be able to diagnose the physical changes within the device as it degrades.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for improved methods and apparatus for testing a device.